Ignite

Our Annual Fundraiser

At Myra’s Kids Foundation’s annual summer retreat for children, the campers participate in a “Luminary Ceremony”. During this very emotional ceremony, each child is invited (one by one), to share a few words or deliver a message in memory of their special person who had died. Campers place their lanterns on a floating dock that is launched into the water and then bear witness to the flickering lights in the distance. The symbolism is intense as the lantern represents the light of the loved one that forever burns in their memories, the floating dock full of lanterns reminds them that no one is alone, they share in their collective grief with others.

At MKF, we know that light is a powerful symbol related to grief. It is for this reason that we call our annual fundraiser “IGNITE”. We want you to understand how powerful it is to “IGNITE” memories as well as the importance of supporting these children as they navigate through their grief experience.

At our IGNITE event in 2022, we inaugurated the HUG (Helping Us Grieve) Award, presented to an individual who has been pivotal to the success of Myra’s Kids. This award allows us to show our appreciation to someone who has truly demonstrated an incomparable passion to be there for children who are grieving and ensure that the support that they require is available for them. The 2024 recipient of the HUG Award is Roz Wiener.

Ignite ‘24

2024 HUG Award Recipient

Roz Wiener has been a dedicated volunteer in the Montreal Community for over 40 years. In her professional life, she was the first Executive Director of the Starlight Foundation Canada and following that became Executive Director of Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Over the past 16 years, in her retirement, she became an active member of the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors where she proudly served as President of the Centre and then followed that by serving as Co-President of the Cummings Centre Foundation.

Roz has been a supporter of Myra’s Kids Foundation since its inception and a Board member for the past 8 years. She has helped to ensure that children grieving the loss of a family member received the support they needed, however possible. The 2024 HUG Award will be presented to Roz in recognition of her incredible dedication, heartfelt compassion and unwavering support for grieving children.

Ignite ‘23

2023 HUG Award Recipient

Dr. Mike (as he is known to all at Myra’s Kids) is a renowned Rheumatologist and incredibly caring and devoted individual. Dr. Mike has been a part of Myra’s Kids since our founding 7 years ago. He is a member of our Board of Directors, our resident expert on all things medical and most importantly, he initiated our “Ask the Doctor” session for our campers at our summer weekend retreat. Myra’s Kids was extremely honoured to present the 2023 HUG Award to Dr. Michael Starr.